I'm not bitter, I'm just contemplating
by mulaNa
Summary: I’m not bitter. Really, I am not. After all, I’m just his best friend. His buddy. His comrade and all that jazz. But is it so hard for him to notice that I am a girl? –From Angelina’s point of view-
1. Strike One!

Summary: I'm not bitter. Really, I am not. After all, I'm just his best friend. His buddy. His comrade and all that jazz. But is it so hard for him to notice that I am a girl? –From Angelina's point of view-  
  
Rating: PG 13  
  
Disclaimer: All belongs to J.K Rowling and all that jazz.  
  
Author's Note: I got this idea at random. Read and review okay.  
  
I'm not bitter. I'm just contemplating.  
  
~.~  
  
I muttered a swear word that I knew would earn me a good scrubbing with soap on my mouth if my mother had heard me when Oliver pointed to the sky with his hand and let out red spark. It meant that practice had started.  
  
I really hated Oliver right now. Ever since he started going out with Katie Bell, he became all soft and nice. Quidditch even became the second priority in his life. Mind you, he even cuts practice to 3 hour per day! The horror of it all.  
  
I landed my broom with a nice thud on the ground and wiped a strand of hair from my face. Harry Potter landed beside me.  
  
"Gone all soft hasn't he?" Harry asked me from the corner of his mouth with a little grin as he nodded towards Oliver.  
  
I scowled at Oliver's retreating back. He was carrying his Cleansweep 6 and Katie's Comet 260 and held the door to our changing room open for her.  
  
"Yes he has."  
  
"You don't seem too happy about it." Harry commented as we started walking towards the changing room.  
  
My gaze fell to Fred Weasley who was talking to his twin George. He said something that made George laugh out loud and I sighed.  
  
"No," I admitted. "I'm not."  
  
~.~  
  
About half an hour after practice, everyone started to gradually leave the changing room. I noticed that Fred left immediately after a quick shower.  
  
"Probably off to go snog his girlfriend." I thought darkly.  
  
Harry and George followed suit later on, still debating about some broomstick or something like that.  
  
"Coming Angie?" Alicia Spinnet, my roommate and also a chaser for the team asked me.  
  
"You go ahead." I told her. I watched her walk out from the changing room, her wet blonde hair hanging off her shoulder.  
  
"You go ahead pumpkin. I need to check our game plan." I heard Oliver tell Katie.  
  
Never in my life have I heard Oliver call anything or anyone aside from a quaffle 'pumpkin' in that endearing tone he was using to Katie.  
  
"Okay but don't stay up too long okay." Katie bent down and gave him a peck on the cheek before leaving the changing room.  
  
Oliver looked quite smitten and his eyes followed her back until she was no longer in view.  
  
I tied my shoelace and looked at Fred's locker and scowled.  
  
"You are an insufferable prat." I muttered darkly.  
  
"What was that Johnson?" Oliver asked incredulously.  
  
I did not realize I had said that out loud. He looked at me, his eyebrow raised.  
  
I could not stand it anymore.  
  
"You Wood are an insufferable bloody prat!" I exclaimed directing my anger towards him instead.  
  
"Me? What did I do?" He asked standing up.  
  
"Why did you cut down practice to 10 hours a week? 14 hours was good, we were not able to have a life then!" I yelled.  
  
"What?" He exclaimed. "Are you bloody out of your knackers? You people were the one begging me to reduce the practice hour."  
  
I glared at him. Okay, so he had a point.  
  
"But still," I exclaimed defiantly. Yeah I know, I sound like my 7 year old cousin but who cares.  
  
Oliver's face softened.  
  
"What's up Angelina?" He asked. I have never heard him call me by my first name before. I must tell Katie to toughen him up again.  
  
I felt my cheeks turn to go red and I stared at the ground and shuffled my feet.  
  
"Now that we have extra time, Fred went and got himself a snogging mate." I mumbled.  
  
"What was that? I can't really here you." Oliver asked me with a grin on his face. I know bloody well he heard me; he just wanted me to repeat it again. Bloody annoying git.  
  
"That stupid git got him a Hufflepuff bimbo for a girlfriend." I exclaimed angrily.  
  
"Angelina, Angelina, Angelina." He said shaking his head with a grin in that stupid condescending tone. "Are you," He dropped his voice in a mock whisper, "Jealous?"  
  
I punched his shoulder lightly.  
  
"You open your mouth Wood and I'll shove a bludger up your arse." I threatened. His face grimaced at the thought of my threat.  
  
I grabbed my book bag and left the changing room.  
  
I'm not jealous. Honestly!  
  
~,~  
  
Gryffindor Table, Great Hall, next morning  
  
I tilted my head from side to side as if to examine the cream puff that George just handed me.  
  
Seriously, after 5 years of knowing him, did he really think I'm stupid enough to accept something from him without at least a thorough check?  
  
George sighed tiredly.  
  
"I'm telling you Angie, it's the tarts that you have to worry about. Fred and I haven't done anything to the puffs-yet." He finished with a devilish grin.  
  
"So uh," I asked nibbling the side of the cream puff. "Where is your partner in crime?"  
  
"Where else? Probably in the broom closet or something." George said wiggling his eyebrow suggestively but I saw that he was looking at me intently, well the cream puff intently. I squinted at him suspiciously and smashed the cream puff with my fist. Just as I had expected, pink liquid began to ooze out.  
  
I glared at him.  
  
"I only have to worry about the tarts?" I mimicked him crossly. He looked guilty.  
  
"Well you know.." He said shifting uncomfortably.  
  
"Hullo," A deep voice behind me said. I knew that voice by heart. It was Fred's.  
  
He took a seat next to me, which was a rare thing because he usually sat next to George who was on the opposite of me.  
  
No reason to be nervous at all. But I followed his line of vision and my shoulder slumped dejectedly. Of course, my seat had the perfect view of the Hufflepuff table.  
  
"What happened here?" He asked looking at the mashed table.  
  
"Your git of a brother decided to test your inventions on me. What's this supposed to do anyways?" I asked glaring at George.  
  
"It was supposed to make your tongue all lizard-y. You know pointed and all." Fred said proudly. Oh, gross.  
  
"Is there an antidote?" I asked him.  
  
"Not yet." George admitted sheepishly.  
  
"And you wanted to test it on me. Prick." I said throwing some crumbs at George.  
  
"I didn't think you'd mind see. Lizards tongues are cool, don't you think." Fred said and I felt as though someone splashed me with cold water.  
  
"You wanted to test it on me?" I asked incredulously, my voice raising a few octaves. I saw that Oliver and Katie were watching us with interest. My stupid bloody captain must have told his other half, I concluded from the way Katie was staring at me half knowing, half pitying. Fred looked surprised by my outburst.  
  
"Yeah." He said. "You never minded it before."  
  
Well, that's true. That was also when I thought Frederick Peter Weasley was immune to the opposite sex. When had I become so touchy?  
  
"I'm going to Herbology." I muttered darkly grabbing my book bag and left the Great Hall.  
  
Some stupid enchanted Knight in Armor tried to follow me but I whacked him with my book bag.  
  
I'm not bitter. Really, I am not. After all, I'm just his best friend. His buddy. His comrade and all that jazz. But is it so hard for him to notice that I am a girl?  
  
Author's Note: Review!! 


	2. Strike Two!

I'm not bitter, I'm just contemplating.  
  
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer.  
  
Author's Note: This chapter is mostly telling you readers about Angelina's background. P/S: Does the Wembly stadium even exist cause if it doesn't, then just well, just go with it.  
  
Hahaha.. I LOVE you guys for reviewing. Anyways, I wanted it to be a one piece story but I thought I'd give It a shot anyways.  
  
Strike Two  
  
Gryffindor Table, Great Hall, next morning.  
  
I glared at the parchment in front of me. These were the days that I really hated being a witch. My dearest sister who left Hogwarts a few years ago had just sent me an owl, so kindly informing, or bragging more like it, that she got front row seats to a Mariah Carey concert! I mean, how freaking unfair was that? I mean, she doesn't even know half the songs that Mariah sings.  
  
I have to explain I guess. My father is a well known ex-politician in the Muggle World. My mother however is a pure witch. Now, see here, my oldest brother Jonathon never got a letter from Hogwarts so he went on and studied in a private school and now is currently studying for a PHD in medicine. My sister, (see above, the kind Goddess who won a front row ticket and a freaking backstage pass to a Mariah Carey concert!)Grace got a Hogwarts owl when she was 11. That was when the whole secret came out. We never knew my mom was a witch or even these sort of things existed until Grace got an owl. Apparently she only told my dad that she was a witch when she was pregnant with Jonathon. Smart eh.  
  
Anyways, my dad made her promise to leave all this witchcraft (my dad thought she was a Wiccan) when Jonathon was born as he was running for state senator. It still puzzled us that Grace was owled whereas Jonathon wasn't. But when Grace got the Owl, my dad said something along the lines of "accepting destiny and what has been bestowed upon us" or something like that and let Grace go off. So my house became what was sort of a chaos.  
  
Since Grace was off in Hogwarts, mom thought that the "destiny" crap included her also and brushed off the dust from her old wand and began magic-fying my whole house. You can imagine my dad's surprise coming home one day to find that the dinner was being cooked by itself, mirrors, walls and stairs could answer back and that the toilet automatically flushes itself (but now Muggles came up with a way to do that even without magic). So because my dad loves my mom so much, he stepped down from the Office and now runs his own bar at the end of the block. So even my house is part Muggle and part magic stuff. When I was 11, I got my Owl and went to Hogwarts thus meeting a pair of freckly twins which whom I have come to love one of them.  
  
Like a scene out of the Bold and The Beautiful eh?  
  
Anyways, back to the story about my glaring at the parchment. So I woke up this morning, perfectly contented with life (if you do not count the 5 minute prayer I recited before breakfast involving the Hufflepuff bimbo whose name I still could not pronounce and something about her getting suffocated to death by the Giant Squid). I even smiled at Mrs. Norris on my way down. She whimpered I tell you! Mrs. Norris actually whimpered. Well actually it was more of a half meow, half growl but anyways.  
  
So I was still contented with life, buttering my scone and having a nice little chat with Alicia when the owls came swooping down. A brown barn Owl, which was obviously from the Post dropped something in front of me. I hated the post owls. After delivering they always expect some type of reward. I begged dad again and again for an owl but he said "this is where I have to draw my line Angie." Hmph. Dad's. Go figure.  
  
So I gave the post owl bits of my scone and that stupid thing bit me! It bit my fourth finger. Stupid bugger. Alicia claimed I tried to choke it with my scone. I didn't, honestly! Not my fault that the stupid owl can't swallow bits of scone the size of a human fist. Finally, Alicia managed to shoo it away and I unscrolled the parchment. That was when I felt all the bunnies and rainbow disappearing from my head.  
  
Dear Angelina,  
I feel that it is my sad duty to inform you that Mariah Carey is going to perform at the Wembley stadium this Saturday. Yes, this Saturday! As in, this Saturday, two days from now, no way you're able to come back for it this Saturday.  
  
Mom already said don't bother trying to get fake sick leave from Madam Pomfrey and coming back for the weekend. I don't have any tickets to spare anyways.  
  
So my dearest Angie, have fun with Snape. All I know is, I have front row tickets and backstage pass to see our lovely Miss Carey this Saturday.  
  
-Grace-  
  
Yes, my sister has always been this mature.  
  
I cannot believe she is still bitter about me giving her a box of Fred and George's canary cream for Christmas.  
  
"This is so wrong," I cried to Alicia shoving the parchment in her face.  
  
She read it quickly.  
  
"So she got tickets to see this Mariah Carey and you're stuck in school with Snape. What's the big deal?" She asked me casually as she took a bite of her cornflakes.  
  
I wanted to scream at her. I really did. Alicia was a pure witch. I tried to think of a metaphor for her to fully comprehend what was going on. I mean come on; I loved Mariah Carey since I was what, 7?  
  
"Alicia, Mariah Carey is like," I paused before naming one of her favorite bands, "The Wheezing Warlock in the Muggle World except that she doesn't wheeze and she's got an amazing voice." I cried.  
  
Understanding finally dawned on her.  
  
"Ooh," She said. "Ouch. Bummer. But why is Grace rubbing it in your face? I thought you guys are close."  
  
"She's bitter." I explained mournfully poking at my scone. "I gave her a box of canary cream for Christmas. It was a joke; she would have enjoyed it except that she brought her muggle boyfriend back to meet my parents for the first time."  
  
"Bummer." Alicia said.  
  
"Yeah," I agreed. My eyes fell to the opening of the Great Hall where Fred just came in with Ditzy Blonde who had her unbelievably long and toned arm draped around his shoulder. "Bummer."  
  
~.~  
  
So today was the pits. The fuzzy feeling that I had when I woke up completely evaporated by the time school ended. I tried to take it out on Mrs. Norris and kicked her on my way to Charms but lucky me Filch just happened to be lurking behind some suit of armor. Bugger.  
  
After screaming obscenities at me at the top of his voice, I finally got off with detention with him tomorrow night. When I finally got to Charms, everyone got up and gave me a standing ovation. Stupid gits.  
  
Fred kept grinning at me in a proud, fatherly sort of way. What a bloody twisted boy.  
  
I'm glad I have Quidditch training tonight to take my mind off things.  
  
So I was walking back to the common room to get my broom, not sulking mind you, when Oliver caught up with me.  
  
"Johnson, Johnson!" He yelled. I stopped walking and let him catch his breath. He held a hand to his chest and leaned towards the wall for support. For a Quidditch captain, he has a low stamina.  
  
"No practice tonight," he managed to wheeze out.  
  
"WHAT?" I yelled causing one of the suits of armors to stagger slightly.  
  
"Yeah, sorry I didn't announce it earlier. I didn't want Katie to hear. It's her birthday tonight and I'm thinking of surprising her a bit." He said with a slight blush.  
  
I glared at him.  
  
"You mean you and her and some broom shack?" I rephrased the question. He turned a deep shade of red.  
  
"Of course not." He managed to splutter after about thirty seconds. How truly pathetic.  
  
"How truly pathetic," I voiced out my thoughts.  
  
"Well, at least I don't like Fred Weasley." He retorted back childishly.  
  
Childish, true, but it still managed to shut me up. I did punch him in his guts though before stalking back to the Common Room.  
  
~.~  
  
When I went to the Common Room it seemed as though Oliver had already told the rest of the team. Harry was sitting with his friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley near the fireplace, their heads bent so low. Alicia was talking to Lee Jordan, she had a horrified expression, my guess is Lee is telling Alicia about his dream girl. Fred and George were playing a game of Exploding Snap with their younger sister Ginny. I sat on one of the armchairs glaring at the fireplace. No, not sulking mind you. Just...thinking. Yeah, you know, get my creative juice all flowing and all. What? Plotting ways to kill that Ditzy Blonde and make it seem like an accident IS creative, no matter what they tell you.  
  
"Hullo Angie." I looked up, surprised to see Fred hovering above me. How I know it's Fred you ask?  
  
Aside from the fact that I have been dreaming of his voice for the past 5 years, he also has a tiny mark above his lip that his identical twin George doesn't. How I know all this stuff? Blame it to my non existing love life. And no, I am not a stalker.  
  
"Hey Fred."  
  
We were quiet. We are never quiet. It's usually Fred talking and me nodding because well, he looks adorable when he talks and I don't want to break the adorableness now do I?  
  
"So what's up?" I asked.  
  
"Nothing," He drawled. I rolled my eyes. That nothing was a nothing that people said to make other people prod even more so when you say it, it sounds as though you HAD to tell the person. Get it?  
  
"Fred," I said drawing out the syllable as one would have to in my position to sound all commanding but honestly I just like his name. "What's going on? Tell Dr. Johnson."  
  
He looked up. My Goodness! He is blushing.  
  
Frederick Peter Weasley is blushing. And at my account too! Hehehe.  
  
"All this crap about Oliver planning a surprise for Katie," he said trailing off. My heart did a summer sault that ended with a split. I mean yeah he knows my birthday is next Monday, we're friends but what's he getting to? I tried to keep a grin off my face.  
  
"Jemaya's birthday this Sunday and you're a girl. And she's a girl. What should I get her?"  
  
Ouch. Double blow. So at least know I know her names pronounced as Gee-My- Ya and not something else. And we can also clarify the fact that he realizes I'm a girl but sigh.  
  
Why am I in love with a stupid, ignorant, prick?  
  
Not that I'm bitter of course. Just contemplating more like it.  
  
A/N: Read and review! You know what they saw, the reviews keep my little fingers (okay, not so little) typing faster. Reviews are like an invisible whip that MAKES me update so review. ( 


	3. Strike Three!

Summary: I'm not bitter. Really, I am not. After all, I'm just his best friend. His buddy. His comrade and all that jazz. But is it so hard for him to notice that I am a girl? –From Angelina's point of view-  
  
Rating: PG 13  
  
Disclaimer: All belongs to J.K Rowling and all that jazz.  
  
Author's Note: You know what they say, the more reviews that come up, the faster these things get uploaded *hint hint* LOL.. I'm glad you guys like it. I don't really know how it's going to turn out in the end, I have a vague idea but you know...  
  
1) Just for your information, I changed Katie's age so she's in the seventh grade while Angelina, Fred and co are all in their fifth grade. I did that because in a lot of Quidditch related stories Katie always plays the main character (usually the witty hard to get girl that Oliver falls in love with) so this time I don't really want to give her major air play and concentrate on Angelina and Alicia instead.  
  
2) It just occurred to me that Oliver had some scenes with Angelina. I didn't plan it that way but since it's like that already, I guess it will fit with J.K's story for the fifth book. I guess in this story it will show more growth in Oliver and Angelina's relationship from pure professional to friendship which later results to Oliver picking Angelina as his successor when he leaves Hogwarts with Katie at the end of the year.  
  
3) I was reading back my Chamber of Secrets book and decided to pop on the DVD because I wanted to see the scene where Hermione got petrified. I wanted to see her face. Anyways, I was skipping some parts and before the end of the year feast, you can see the back of Percy walking with a tall, long, wavy haired girl which Nearly Headless Nick referred as "Miss Clearwater". For some reason, I kept repeating that scene. Anyone who knows a good Percy and Penelope story, please tell me about it. Thanks guys.  
  
I'm not bitter, I'm just contemplating.  
  
Strike Three: And you're out!  
  
~.~  
  
Gryffindor Common Room, Later That Night  
  
Even after 5 years of being in the wizarding world, I still can not get enough of quills. Yes, quills. There's just something about the feathery thing and the pointed tip and the scratchy sound it makes on parchment that really makes me smile.  
  
Sometimes when I'm writing a long essay, I'll just smile for no reason. The scratchy sound just makes me smile.  
  
I still remember back in my first year, I had my first lesson with Snape. He made us right all these rules and regulations on the board, everyone was complaining because dude, it was long. But not me, I was just grinning away, writing with my brand new feathery quill.  
  
Yes, grinning and writing. It must have struck odd to Snape because he took off five points from Gryffindor for "planning destructives in my dungeon." He thought I wanted to steal something from the cabinet. God, he can be so self centered, I wasn't even thinking about him.  
  
Why, you ask am I indulging you with such details. Well, let me explain to you, my buddy Fred Weasley literally bounced over to this really cozy arm chair that I was sitting and begged me to help him plan a surprise birthday for his girlfriend Jemaya. Not that he can't ask his brother George or even his sister Ginny but he just felt compelled to ASK me, oblivious to the fact that I really, really want to trap him in a room full of Puffskeins. Yep, he has a fear of Puffskeins, I'll tell you why one day.  
  
Why, you ask me, am I making such a big deal about helping a good friend plan a little get together for his girlfriend. Well, let me count the reason.  
  
One, I can't stand the girlfriend. True, I have never been properly introduced to her before but well, she's blonde. Nothing against blondes, but she's also blue eyed. Nothing against blonde with blue eyes but her hair is immaculately curled and her toenails match her freaking eye color! She's a freaking Barbie. She scares me so therefore I do not like her. Oh and me liking Fred since my second year might be one of the reasons why I'm so bitter. Not bitter sorry, just... contemplating.  
  
Oh well. Not only that, but Ditzy Blonde's (that is what I have decided to call Barbie, her name is just, unpronounceable) birthday is on a Sunday. Why, again you ask should that bother me? Well, since my birthday is on Monday, which is the day AFTER Sunday by the way. Since Fred would have put so much thought and effort to make Ditzy Blonde's birthday a "memorable" one, he will surely have forgotten my birthday. Yeah, I'll probably get something he pre-ordered with George and Lee months ago like he does every year but you know, once in a while it would be nice if he made a gesture.  
  
So back to the story about the Quill. So after my dear Fred mind warped me to agree to help him plan something for Ditzy Blonde's birthday, I have resorted to stare at my new Quill that I bought at Hogsmeade for approximately ten minutes. Yep, just ten minutes of staring at my shiny new Quill. And guess what? I actually do feel better. I feel the knots on my shoulder easing up a bit and my breath more controlled. Amazing. Quills can solve world health problem. I need to write to St. Mungos and tell them about this one day.  
  
"Hey Angie?" I looked up to see my roommate Alicia peering down a bit cautiously. Angie, that's what they call me. Because after a while the name Angelina just gets too long and tiring to say. "Are you okay? You've been staring at the Quill for about five minutes."  
  
Beep. Wrong, Spinnet. 10 minutes, I counted. But I wasn't going to tell her that now would I.  
  
"Just peachy." I said darkly glaring at the fireplace. Now that I have to put down my Quill, I could feel all the tension mounting back up. "You?" I asked.  
  
"Peachy too." She muttered. I frowned. There was something suspicious about the way she said peachy. It was as if she wasn't really peachy but she just said she was peachy but in truth she had other things on her mind.  
  
"You wanna study Transfiguration?" She asked me nodding towards the big book in front of me.  
  
I really should you know, tests were coming up and all.  
  
"Not really." I answered instead.  
  
"Hm." She said.  
  
"Hm." I replied.  
  
This can go on forever you know. We both stared into space. I really need to break the silence, I need to say something witty, I decided.  
  
Yes, something witty that will make Alicia laugh her knickers off and that would get Fred's attention.  
  
So, something witty. There was a pause. Actually quite a long pause.  
  
I sighed resignedly.  
  
"Let's just go to bed." I muttered darkly.  
  
~!~ Dungeons, Next Morning.  
I let out a sigh of relief when the dismissal bell rang. It was only ten o'clock in the morning but I was having a rough day. Usually Alicia would wake up because I'm a dead sleeper but today she woke up early for a little one on one with Lee (I swear something is going on between them) at the Quidditch pitch and went straight for breakfast. So without my human alarm clock who would scream, yell and prod me like she does every morning, I overslept.  
  
I couldn't find a pair of clean robes so I had to put on yesterday's robes which were crumpled. I tried to magically straighten it but I must have used a wrong charm because it became two sizes bigger instead. There was no time for me to undo what I have done so I went straight to Transfiguration with an oversized robe and fluffy hair. I was ten minutes late and McGonagall took 5 points of Gryffindor.  
  
If Transfiguration wasn't bad enough (I was so hungry I could not concentrate and kept missing McGonagall's questions), we had double period of potions. We were supposed to make invisibility potion today and try it on our pets (Since I have no pets, I had to borrow an owl from the school Owlery). My owl didn't even turn silver. Snape took 15 points from Gryffindor.  
  
I look like a burlap sack, I am hungry and I lost Gryffindor 20 points before lunch. That is a record. I bet even the Weasley's twins had never managed to accomplish that before.  
  
And speaking of the devil, Fred was heading towards me.  
  
Fred, it seemed, was having a good day. He looked dashingly handsome- even more than usual and he was grinning from ear to ear.  
  
I swear I felt a blush rise up to my cheek. God, when have I turned into such a girl?  
  
"Angelina... Angelina!" He sing songed my name as he waded in through the throng of crowd and made his way next to me.  
  
I willed myself to stop blushing and gave him a huge grin.  
  
"What's up?" He asked me when he reached me. We started walking the opposite direction from where the Great Hall was situated.  
  
"Nothing much. I had a horrendous day today. I overslept, I got on the bad side of McGonagall, I..."  
  
I was cut off when Fred put his arms on top of me. It was then I realized he hadn't been listening to a word I've been saying. It was also then I realized we were in a deserted hallway. I felt the blush rise up to my cheek.  
  
Fred was looking around as though he was looking for something.  
  
"Fred, what are you..?" Again I was cut off when Fred put his palm on my mouth and let me tell you, for a guy who is a beater on the Quidditch team and spends half his life blowing up things, he has really soft hands. Sort of buttery-ish and it smelt nice.  
  
"Shssh." He whispered and with that he leaned close to me, close enough to hug each other.  
  
I've known him for 6 years and even though we are extremely close, we do not have the touchy touchy relationship. Yeah, a peck on the cheek for Christmas and Birthdays but we rarely hug or be this close in proximity for no occasion.  
  
I swear people from the astronomy tower can hear my heart beating.  
  
He leaned closer until his lips were inches away from my ear and I could feel his breath on top of my head. I closed my eyes in anticipation. This is just like a movie!  
  
"Wheezing Warlocks." He whispered.  
  
Wha-?  
  
I pushed him away.  
  
"What?" And again, this is just like a movie! Just when things were starting to get good, the script writers decide to make the viewers watch another extra hour of twisted plots.  
  
"Wheezing Warlocks are performing tomorrow at Hogsmeade." He told me in a rushed whisper. "Tomorrow is a Hogsmeade weekend." He grinned as though he had just struck gold.  
  
"I'm confused." I told him.  
  
Fred sighed impatiently and leaned closer.  
  
"That's my birthday surprise for Jemaya. That's why I brought you here. I need you to cover for me tomorrow night because the concert might run late." He looked at me eagerly.  
  
I was still trying to process what he is trying to tell me.  
  
"I'm meeting Jemaya here in about five minutes."  
  
Slowly, things were starting to make sense to me. This was what he meant by me helping him prepare a surprise for Ditzy Blonde. I nodded weakly.  
  
"Well?" He asked me impatiently.  
  
"Well what?" I asked him meekly.  
  
"Will you help me or not?" He had gotten rather impatient that he resorted to shifting his weight from left to right and anxiously looking around.  
  
Dumbstruck, I nodded.  
  
"Great." And in an instance, he bent down and gave me a peck on the cheek. His cheeks were rosy with excitement. He smoothed his hair and checked his reflection on a shiny knight of armor.  
  
In a span of half a minute, Frederick Weasley had done two things he had never done in all six years of me knowing him. Him kissing me without a reason and him bothered by his reflection.  
  
"How do I look?" He asked me and I noted a hint of nervousness in his voice.  
  
I closed my eyes, still trying to digest this all and gave him a small smile.  
  
"Great." I whispered hoarsely.  
  
"Thanks." He grinned like a love struck fool and I had to remind myself, he is.  
  
He made a gesture for me to leave with his head.  
  
"Thanks Angie. Jemaya's going to be here any minute and I don't want her to be suspicious." He nodded towards a basket next to a knight in shining armor. "Her pre birthday surprise. Nicked it off from the house elves." He said proudly.  
  
Before I could answer, we heard the clicking of heels and high pitched voice asking "Fred, where are you?"  
  
Fred's eyes turned wide and he mouthed "Go!" at me. I quickly hid into one of the empty classrooms.  
  
My life was turning into an overused cliché plot used in teenage movies that we all scoff- boy and girl who are best friends and one of them, usually the girls have more than brotherly love for the boy. And we all know how it turns out, after many confrontations and tears, the girl will always end up like she was at the beginning.  
  
Lost and confused.  
  
Author's Note: I am extremely sorry for the slow update. I did not realize it had been TWO MONTHS until someone reviewed and told me. The minute I got that review, I just sat down and started typing. So sorry...the thing is, I went to Cairo for 10 days and when I came back I had 10 days of school work to catch up so I'm really sorry. Wow...so please review ya..thanks.  
  
I'm not particularly pleased with this chapter. Sorry, will try to revise it when I have the time. I'm so anxious to get this uploaded I didn't read it again. So sorry.  
  
Mistakes I Noticed In The First Chapter:  
  
"I muttered a swear word that I knew would earn me a good scrubbing with soap on my mouth if my mother heard me when Oliver pointed to the sky with his HAND and let out red sparks. It meant practice had STARTED."  
  
The correct one would be 'WAND' and 'ENDED'.  
  
...So if you guys noticed any more mistakes, feel free to tell me ya..thanks.. 


	4. Strike and You're Out!

Summary: I'm not bitter. Really, I am not. After all, I'm just his best friend. His buddy. His comrade and all that jazz. But is it so hard for him to notice that I am a girl? –From Angelina's point of view-  
  
Rating: PG 13  
  
Disclaimer: All belongs to J.K Rowling and all that jazz.  
  
Author's Note: You know what they say, the more reviews that come up, the faster these things get uploaded hint hint LOL.. I'm glad you guys like it. I don't really know how it's going to turn out in the end, I have a vague idea but you know...  
  
Hey guys...as I write this, the plane that I am on is descending... yep..I'm spending the long weekend in Bangkok.  
  
I'm not bitter, I'm just contemplating.  
  
Chapter Four: Strike...and You're Out!!  
  
Hallways of Hogwarts Castle  
  
If my life was a movie, I would have ran to the fields, cry my heart out and throw in some thunder rain for effect and then someone totally unthinkable, probably Fred's twin, George would scoop me in his arms and I'd confess my feelings towards Fred to him. George would then gallantly say something like "Angie, Fred's the idiot" and give me a very innocent, friendly hug which some passer bys misunderstood and spread the rumors that I am with George. Fred would then feel 'betrayed' that I did not trust him enough to tell him about me and George and in the middle of a blazing row I'd let it all slip out by saying something movie cliché like "I've been in love with you my whole life you ignorant prat" which will lead to a few awkward stammers and we would just fall out from being friends. Years would pass, we would have graduated from Hogwarts, won a few Quidditch tournaments without so much as an eye contact between us. Then when I'm in my mid-20s I get an invitation to Fred's wedding and everybody is persuading me to go but I send an RSVP saying I would not be able to attend. But then during the day of the wedding, I'll be extremely edgy and decide what the heck and apparate to the wedding chapel seconds before Fred and Ditzy Blonde would be officially husband and wife and I'll stop the wedding and create a commotion. What happens next would be according to how the twisted the script writers feel at the moment.  
  
Heh. I'm sure that plot has been done before. Wasn't it in Runaway Bride? Or My Best Friends' Wedding? Or Notting Hill? Well whatever it is, my point was that it's a very used movie situation that would have happened to me if I was in a movie.  
  
Except that I'm not in any blasted movie. This is MY life we're talking about. Yup, the non-existent one I mean. So there is no crying in the rain or blazing row.  
  
Anyways, after I misunderstood Fred's physical signs as something more than friendship only to be told to help "cover" for him while he was out with his snogging mate also known as Ditzy Blonde, the girl with alarmingly long eye lashes and the forehead that is absolutely free of lines (I'm sure she used Magic-tox!!), I was crushed. Crushed, angry and humiliated. Crushed that once again the bloke of my desire did not return my feelings, angry that I let myself fall so deeply with Fred Weasley for Gods sake and humiliated that once again, I, Angelina Rory Johnson came out as a loser. (a/n: MY PLANE JUST LANDED!! HAHA)  
  
I left the classroom that Fred had shoved me in moment ago when Ditzy Blonde arrived when I saw Fred and Ditzy Blonde head the direction of the Quidditch Pitch...also known as the broom shack. I sighed deeply as I trudged down the empty hallway. Everyone was either at having lunch or at the library or enjoying the clear day out. I walked to one of the many windows situated at various corner of the castle and looked out. It was such a fine day. Birds were chirping, the grass was freshly cut, there was a slight breeze and the sky was so blue.  
  
A sudden image or Fred and Ditzy Blonde snogging under a tree while the hummingbirds chirped over their heads passed through my thought.  
  
I closed my eyes deeply and prayed that there will be a thunder storm.  
  
...  
God has a funny way of showing me that he cares. After praying for all kinds of disasters of Mother Nature, I went to lunch and sat between of Lee Jordan and Alicia (_was it my imagination but did they seem less_ _than pleased when I sat in the middle of them?)._ There I was, having a lively conversation while eating my mashed potatoes and chicken wings when the double doors to the Great Hall burst open and a stream of students (_some of whom I saw hanging about near the lake when I was _ _looking through the window)_ come in, soaking wet and shivering. Filch burst in a moment later bursting obscenities but luckily things calmed down when some level headed Ravenclaws performed a drying spell on their friends and the whole army of wet rodents decided to follow suit.

Ginny Weasley, sister of Fred and George and a whole lot of other Weasley's that have left school sat in front of me. She had just performed a drying spell on herself but there was still a little wet patch on her robe that she missed. She gave us a quick grin and began piling on the food.  
  
"What happened?" Alicia asked taking little bites of the sticky rice.  
  
Ginny took her time chewing before replying, "A bunch of us was outside when without warning it just started to rain."  
  
I felt my heart soar. No snog fest for Fred then!  
  
Without realizing it, I had punched my left fist, which was still tightly clamping a fork on to the air.  
  
"What the-?" Exclaimed Lee who was two inches away from being stabbed by my fork. I quickly put my fork down, realizing that now there were a few eyes on me.  
  
"Sorry." I mumbled looking down. I realized they were still waiting for an explanation. "I, um, had an itch." And as if to prove my point, I quickly scratched my underarms which I realized was quite disgusting but, I'm Angelina Johnson- the Quill Lover. People have seen me doing far weirder things before.  
  
Lee burst out laughing, Alicia quirked an eyebrow and Ginny just looked confused as though wondering if this was a normal occurrence.  
  
"So, uh, Ginny? Where is Fred?" I asked trying to sound nonchalant. Ginny frowned and made a motion that she could not hear over Lee's loud howling. I rolled my eyes and as pleasantly as possible smacked Lee on the back of his head and leaned forward. He made some choking noises and he hit himself in the chest before something that looked oddly like a chewed piece of scone flew out of his mouth and landed directly on his plate. Disgusting. Apparently, he seemed to think so to.  
  
"Disgusting!" He said wrinkling his noise. "That's it. No more lunch for me." He grabbed his book bag and stalked off the hall, not before his bag "accidentally" hit the small of my back.  
  
Bugger.  
  
Alicia sighed and gave me a long withering look once Lee left the Hall.  
  
What? Is it my fault or something? Plus, who eats scones for lunch?  
  
I took a bite of my mashed potato (_perfectly acceptable food for lunch-not like scones!)_ before I realized Alicia was still giving me that long look as though waiting for me to say something.  
  
"Wha-?" I asked accidentally spitting some bits of the mashed potato. Alicia's eyes flicked from the place where the bits had landed and gave this long exasperated sigh.  
  
I rolled my eyes and swallowed my food. "What?" I asked.  
  
Alicia just shook her head and put a few scones on her napkin and wrapped it up.  
  
"I have had enough of lunch too." She announced before leaving the hall.  
  
_What?_  
  
"Honestly, I think something's going on with them." I told Ginny after a long awkward pause nodding towards the door. And by them, I mean Lee and Alicia.  
  
Ginny just shrugged and kept on eating her peas (_now come on, who eats_ _peas for lunch? Peas are never acceptable for any time of dining!)_ lifelessly.  
  
I paused suddenly I don't feel as though I have any appetite for lunch either. I played with my mashed potato, trying to think of a tactful of asking Ginny about her brother. She didn't seem to be in the mood to be Merry Sunshine either.  
  
"Ginny?" I asked.

Ginny looked up at me, a slight dazed look in her eye. I was so tempted to ask her where in the bloody name is her brother but I knew she would then be suspicious. Ginny's a smart girl. After all, she figured out about Percy and Penelope way before any other Weasley (_granted,_ _she caught them kissing but still. You should have seen the look on Fred's face when he told me about them. Two words: pure evil_) so I couldn't just ask about her brother out of the blue.  
  
"**Ginny looks like she's half asleep. Go on, just ask her about Fred.** **She's too out of it to notice anything amiss**." A small but rather sinister sounding voice in my head told me.  
  
"_**No! She looks like she's in trouble. Don't be insensitive, girl. Be the big sister she never had and ask her what's wrong. Who knows? She might be touched that you're considerate and score you some brownie points with Fred."**_ Another little voice in my head called out but this one sounded eerily like Mariah Carey in Glitter or in other words, not a good thing.  
  
"**And she'll tell Fred what? That she thinks you're her sister? Isn't that the notion we're trying to get Fred to GET RID OFF?"** The first voice said again.   
  
I closed my eyes and rested my head on my hands.  
  
First sign of insanity: There are voices talking to you in your head, and you're actually contemplating whether or not to follow "its"advice.

...  
  
In the end I decided to follow both of my inner voices. After all, didn't some noble prize winner once said "There will be no science without intuition?"  
  
I asked Ginny if she was okay, like what the second voice said. And when Ginny mumbled that she was fine, I decided to follow the first voice by ditching the big sister role and not bothering to really make sure she's fine and ask about Fred instead.  
  
Ginny told me she saw Fred and Ditzy Blonde (_no, she did not refer the girl with the abnormally long legs as Ditzy Blonde, she said Jemaya_) outside when she was near the lake. And when they were all rushing back to the castle after the rain, she heard Fred say something about going back to the common room.  
  
So after that, I bid my goodbye to Ginny and went back to the common room. I know it was mean but I couldn't help wishing that Fred was at the fireplace when I went in, sulking while he's drying himself off that his carefully thought of plan went haywire. Then I can go in, play the heroine, play a game of wizards chess with him, fail miserably and let him laugh at my horrible thought of moves in chess and make him feel better. That way, he'll see that he doesn't need a girl with a perfect tan to make him happy.  
  
But when I went in, Fred wasn't there. So I sat near the fireplace (_in the armchair that I hoping to see Fred sitting down all pouty and all_) and after about twenty minutes, I started to get agitated. Where was he?  
  
As though to answer my question, Fred started descending from the boy's staircase dormitory with Lee on his tow. I sat up straighter but my spirits plummeted when I realized it was just George. Sighing, I slumped down again and stared at the flickering flames of the fire. I could hear bits and pieces of George and Lee's conversation but they didn't interest me. Quidditch, Quidditch, pranks, more Quidditch (_they sound like an_ _exact replica of Oliver Wood, I tell you_)Quidditch, Fred in a broom shack, Quidditch....wait a minute, FRED in a BLOODY BROOM SHACK?  
  
I craned my neck trying to hear George and Lee.  
  
"..luckily that prat was innovative you see," I heard George saying. "Jemaya was a bit put out that they didn't get to continue their picnic you see but Fred, that lucky git, suggested they finish their date in one of the empty classrooms. And out of the hundreds of classroom in the castle, he just happened to pick a broom closet." I heard George say before him and Lee sniggered.  
  
"Lucky prat." Lee said and just like that, they changed their conversation to Quidditch again.  
  
Boys. Will never be able to understand them.  
  
.....  
I didn't really want to listen to George and Lee anymore. After twenty minutes of listening to them debate about who was a better team; Falmouth Falcons or Pride of Portree, it was clear that they were not going to return back to the subject about Fred any sooner so I decided to leave the common room. At first I thought of going to the Quidditch Pitch and fly about for awhile but the weather did not permit me to do so. I was tempted to go to the Owlery too, I keep hearing how people always go there when they need some peace and serenity but I decided against it as I don't react well to sudden owl droppings. So I went to the place that any normal, self respecting, broken hearted sixteen year old would; the library.  
  
Don't scoff me! It isn't like there are many places to go to in Hogwarts when you're in a foul mood without risking the chance of bumping into someone like Filch or that insufferable Slytherin, Marcus Flint. Yes, the library was a safe place. All I had to do was go to the table where I was clearly out of view of Madam Pince and just...relax... Yes, in a library.  
  
I randomly picked up a thick book and opened to the middle page so it would seem as though I was learning if the librarian happen to walk past. I glanced at the tiny roman writing and gave a short bark of laughter. I had picked a book where the language would change every five minutes. It was fascinating really. At first it was Swedish, then Japanese then it was Arabic then it was French then it was English then it was  
  
"Gibberish?" A voice behind me ask.  
  
The voice startled me and I turned around so fast I think I pulled a muscle. It was Fred, of course. (_I did say my life was kind of like a very weird but kind of predictable B-grade movie. My crush just happens to turn up everywhere I go. Not that I'm complaining of course- there's no trace of lipstick on any of his visible body parts_.)  
  
"Fred! Don't scare me like that." I scolded him.  
  
"Okay." He said cheerfully- a bit too cheerfully actually as he slid into the chair opposite of me. "How do you want me to scare you next time?" He asked.  
  
I rolled my eyes and muttered "Prat" while looking at the writing change into Spanish. I was trying to keep a blush from rising to my face. I had turned from the girl who was so comfortable with Fred to someone who turned into a blushing fool every time I saw him.

I pretended to be absorbed by the book whose language I can't even understand all the while trying to pretend I cannot feel Fred's gaze on me.  
  
"Angie." He finally whispered.  
  
"What?" I whispered back.  
  
He leaned forward and I took a sharp intake of breath as he slammed my book shut. "Let's go take a walk."  
  
I pretended to ponder. Book that was turning into Gibberish or a walk with Fred?  
  
"Let's go." I whispered back.  
  
....  
I had learned from this morning's experience to never get my hopes high again when it comes to Fred Weasley. Not even when he is walking as close in proximity to me as he is now. But when he suggested taking a walk around the lake, now, I couldn't help but feel a bit giddy.  
  
The rain had stopped but there were still droplets of water dropping off the leaves of the trees and there were small puddles of water sloshing our feet. I guess some people can call this a romantic scenery (_I swear, the next holiday I'm going to suggest Jamaica and I'm going to be so incredibly tanned that all this little blushes won't even be noticeable anymore.)  
_  
We were just walking aimlessly and not talking. It wasn't even an awkward silence, but a nice comfortable silence.  
  
"How are you Angie?" He asked.

His tone was casual and not playful so I was relieved. It meant that he wasn't in the mood to try and test some of his inventions on me.  
  
"Things are good. Had detention with Filch, the bugger, but it wasn't too bad. You?" I replied.  
  
"Things are good too." He answered but his voice sounded distant but I wasn't going to press into it. I just wanted to enjoy the walk... and how physically close we are right now. He looks so thoughtful.  
  
I knew deep down he wanted something from me (as in a favor, you perverts!) but I didn't want to think about it. I was trying to fool myself into thinking that he just wants to talk and make things back like how it used to be, pre Ditzy Blonde (_I guess I have to thank Ditzy Blonde cause before she came, though we were close we were never THISCLOSE you know what I mean?)  
_  
"Hey Angie?" He asked.  
  
"Yeah?" I murmured.  
  
"Sit." He ordered pointing to a patch of grass.  
  
I laughed.  
  
"What?" I asked, bewildered.  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"You looked tired."  
  
I could feel my eyes bulging. A serious Fred, a thoughtful Fred now a considerate Fred. I don't know how much more of this I can take.  
  
"No, it's okay." I said. We had stopped walking and just picked up small pebble stones and try to throw it as far as possible to the lake.

It wasn't the smartest thing I could have done because I had pulled my muscle back in the library when I turned too fast and now I aggrivated my shoulders again.

"Ow." I said softly as I put my arm down. I watched as the stone I threw fall in the middle of the lake with a small plop and massaged the area around my neck.

"You okay?" Fred asked noticing that I stopped throwing pebbles already.

I heaved a sigh.

"Yeah, it's just that I think I pulled a muscle. Bloody perfect timing too, Oliver's going to kill me if I miss a practice." I complained.

Fred's eyebrow burrowed in concern as he shortened the distance between us (_and let me tell you, he did not have to take THAT many steps)_.

"Just relax." He commanded softly as his hands slowly began threading the knots on my shoulder.

"Ow." I cried again when he began massaging the area where it was hurting.

"Just relax. Charlie told me how to do this. It'll lessen the pain."

And it was true. At first the searing feeling felt painful beyond belief but after awhile it felt much, much better.

As though sensing it, Fred asked me, "Better?"

"Yeah." I murmured still in a lull and daze from where his warm hands gripped my shoulders. It felt so good but Fred put his hands down, much too soon for my liking.  
  
"Okay then." He paused and took a step back. "So I just wanted to continue where we left of this morning. As I was saying, just in case the..."  
  
I sighed and rubbed my eyes tiredly as he began telling me his exact plans for Ditzy Blonde's birthday. I decided it was easier to tune him out and sat on the patch of dry grass he pointed earlier.  
  
I rested my head on my arm as I watched him talk. I knew it was coming, I knew he was going to ask for my help regarding Ditzy Blonde but I decided to ignore the fact and just enjoy the time we were sharing.  
  
"...you get what I'm saying, Angie?" He asked finally turning to face me.  
  
I nodded and forced myself to smile.  
  
"Yeah, I do." I told him.  
  
..  
  
A/N:FINALLY! I finished typing this thing. I know it's a bit lame and abrupt but hey, it's 12.22 in the morning. I have school tomorrow but it's open day so I guess they won't mind if I go there at 9 and not 7. I am way too lazy and tired to read it through again. Any mistakes, e-mail me ya. Thanks again guys. Please review! Thanks..  
  
A/N: I started typing this thing, TWO MONTHS ago when I was in Bangkok but alas, I was hit with the dreaded Author's Block. Yikes! Sorry guys if this chapter is super lame. Just wanted to get it out of my system.  
  
To READER: Let me remind you, that there are many factors to me not posting any new chapters.

1) My computer was hit with a virus (So therefore I could not even switch it on to continue typing and after I cleaned my hardware system, my internet was down for a couple of weeks.)

2) As I said, Author's Block.

3) I live in Malaysia, a country in South East Asia so therefore my holidays are way different than in America or Europe. We don't even get summer breaks. We have summer all year round. In fact, the only long holidays we get are in December.

4) I am absolutely swamped with school work as this is middle of the year, we have SO many projects coming up. Important projects that will contribute to my mid year examinations so there is no way I'm skimping on it. And not only that, there have been so many school things going on. School plays, school trips, tournaments asap. I hope you guys can understand.

5) It takes more that ½ of my day to write this. Heck, it took me two months!

6) Thank you for reading my story. After I read your review, I knew it was time to get my lazy arse down and start typing. Thanks, man!

A MILLION OF THANKS TO THOSE WHO HAD REVIEWED especially those who were slightly frightening and used a lot of capital words.


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